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The Failed American Dream? Representation of the American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man

Åkesson, Johan LU (2018) ENGK01 20172
English Studies
Abstract
The American Dream has been a central theme of American literature since the early nineteenth century. The American Dream has subsequently become a tool for depicting the uniqueness of America. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925) and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (1952) are two classic American novels, depicting the American Dream in different social and racial contexts. This essay examines the representation of the American Dream in these novels, focussing in particular on Fitzgerald’s characterisation and criticism of the consumerism of the 1920s, and on the themes of invisibility and racism in Invisible Man. The essay also considers the relationship between the protagonists of both novels and the liberal, capitalist American... (More)
The American Dream has been a central theme of American literature since the early nineteenth century. The American Dream has subsequently become a tool for depicting the uniqueness of America. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925) and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (1952) are two classic American novels, depicting the American Dream in different social and racial contexts. This essay examines the representation of the American Dream in these novels, focussing in particular on Fitzgerald’s characterisation and criticism of the consumerism of the 1920s, and on the themes of invisibility and racism in Invisible Man. The essay also considers the relationship between the protagonists of both novels and the liberal, capitalist American ideology, concluding that both protagonists suffer from a naïve and fatal belief in the American Dream. (Less)
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author
Åkesson, Johan LU
supervisor
organization
course
ENGK01 20172
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
American Dream, Fitzgerald, Ellison, 1920s, USA, racism, social criticism, social equality
language
English
id
8933871
date added to LUP
2018-01-25 09:36:57
date last changed
2018-01-25 09:36:57
@misc{8933871,
  abstract     = {{The American Dream has been a central theme of American literature since the early nineteenth century. The American Dream has subsequently become a tool for depicting the uniqueness of America. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925) and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (1952) are two classic American novels, depicting the American Dream in different social and racial contexts. This essay examines the representation of the American Dream in these novels, focussing in particular on Fitzgerald’s characterisation and criticism of the consumerism of the 1920s, and on the themes of invisibility and racism in Invisible Man. The essay also considers the relationship between the protagonists of both novels and the liberal, capitalist American ideology, concluding that both protagonists suffer from a naïve and fatal belief in the American Dream.}},
  author       = {{Åkesson, Johan}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Failed American Dream? Representation of the American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}